Description:
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title>
<jats:p>MgO nanoparticles (MgO NPs) were obtained by a simple hydrothermal-calcination method. The influence of three different surfactants on the surface morphology, particle size and antibacterial performance of MgO NPs was investigated. The SEM results indicated that compared with using benzoic acid and citric acid, the MgO sample has more regular flake morphology and well dispersion, moreover, its particle size has more small and uniform when EDTA-2Na was used as the surfactant. The colony-forming unit count and optical density (OD) measurement results suggested that MgO NPs prepared using EDTA-2Na had the best antibacterial activity against <jats:italic>Escherichia coli (E. coli),</jats:italic> which might be originated from the small particle size and low aggregation. Our study demonstrated that using proper surfactant was a key way during the synthesis process to control the size and morphology of MgO NPs and enhance its antibacterial efficiency, and this way was expected to be applied to other inorganic antibacterial agents.</jats:p>